Entering the final race of the season, the top two positions in the World Drivers' Championship were already secured by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas respectively. Competition remained for third place, with Max Verstappen holding 260 points over Charles Leclerc's 249. Sebastian Vettel, with 230 points, remained in contention to overtake Leclerc for fourth but was mathematically unable to reach Verstappen.
In the World Constructors' Championship, the top four positions were finalized with Mercedes leading Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren. The battle for fifth place remained active, with Renault holding an eight-point advantage over Toro Rosso. The event marked the final entry for Toro Rosso under that name before rebranding to AlphaTauri for the 2020 season.
The first practice session was interrupted by two red flags, the first caused by a Daniel Ricciardo engine failure and the second by a Sebastian Vettel crash at turn 19. Valtteri Bottas finished the session fastest. Bottas also led the second practice session despite a collision with Romain Grosjean at turn 11, for which Bottas received a reprimand. Max Verstappen led the third and final practice session.
Lewis Hamilton secured pole position during qualifying. Although Valtteri Bottas qualified second, he was required to start from the back of the grid due to exceeding his quota for power unit components. This promoted Max Verstappen to the front row alongside Hamilton.
Prior to the start, FIA officials discovered that the fuel mass in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari was significantly different from the amount declared by the team. The stewards deferred the investigation until after the race.
At the start, Hamilton maintained his lead from pole. Further down the order, a collision occurred when Lance Stroll struck the rear of Pierre Gasly, pushing Gasly into Sergio Pérez. The contact destroyed Gasly's front wing, forcing a pit stop that dropped him over a minute behind the field. On the opening lap, Leclerc overtook Verstappen for second place on the straight between turns 7 and 8.
A technical server crash on lap 4 resulted in the disabling of DRS for all cars, as communications were disrupted and the system could not ensure DRS was only used in permitted zones. The system remained offline until lap 18. During this period, Valtteri Bottas began a recovery drive from the back of the grid, reaching the midfield by the time DRS was restored.
Pit strategies began on lap 8 with Lando Norris. Ferrari opted for a double-stack pit stop on lap 12, though a slow seven-second stationary time for Sebastian Vettel hindered his progress. Max Verstappen pitted on lap 25, followed by Hamilton on lap 26. On lap 32, Verstappen utilized his newer tires to retake second place from Leclerc at turn 8.
In the closing stages, Carlos Sainz Jr. opted for a second pit stop on lap 41 to defend his position in the Drivers' Championship against Pierre Gasly. Dropping to 14th, Sainz executed a series of overtakes, eventually passing Nico Hülkenberg on the final lap to secure 10th place and the single point necessary to finish sixth in the championship standings.
Lewis Hamilton won the race, leading every lap and recording the fastest lap. This victory was his 11th of the season and the 84th of his career.
Lewis Hamilton’s performance earned him his sixth career "grand slam" (pole, win, fastest lap, and leading every lap), his first since the 2017 British Grand Prix. By finishing the race, Hamilton became the first driver to score points in every round of a season on two separate occasions, having previously achieved the feat in 2017.
In the final standings, Max Verstappen secured third place in the championship over Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished sixth in the standings with 96 points, one point ahead of Pierre Gasly. Gasly, who finished the race in 18th following his first-lap incident, expressed frustration post-race, stating he was "disgusted" by the collision with Stroll as his car had the potential to defend his championship position.
Following the post-race investigation into the fuel discrepancy, Ferrari was fined €50,000, but Leclerc was permitted to retain his third-place podium finish. The event also marked the final race for Robert Kubica before his brief return in 2021.
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